The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-02-17


Then she returned to Mrs. Ord, but Mrs.
Grant defended her friend at the risk of |
arousing greater vehemence.
Once when there was a halt Maj Seward,
a nephew of the secretary of state and an
officer of Gen. Crd's staff, rode up, and try
ing to say something ocular remarked:
"The presidents horse is very gallant, Mrs.
Lincoln: he insists ON riding by the side of
Mrs Ordr' This of course added fuel to the
flame. "What do you mean by that, sir5"
she cried. Seward discovered that he had
made huge mistake, and his horse at once
developed a popularity that compelled himto
ride behind to get out of the way of the
storm.
Finally the party arrived at its destina-
ton, and Mrs. Ord came up to the ambu-
lance. Then Mrs. Lincoln positively insulted
her, called her vile names in the presence OF
a crowd of officers and asked what she meant
by following up the president The poor
woman burst into tears and inquired what
she had done, but Mrs. Lincoln refused to be
appeased, and stormed till she was tired.
Mrs. Grant still tried to stand by her friend,
and everybody was shocked and Mortified.
But all things come to an end, and after
awhile we returned to City Point.
That night the president and Mrs. Lincoln
entertained Gen. and Mrs. Grant and the
generals staff at dinner on the steamer, and
before us all Mrs. Lincoln berated Gen. Ord
to the president and urged that he should be
removed. He was unfit for his place, she
said, to say nothing of his wife. Gen. Grant
sat next and defended his officer bravely
OF course Gen. Ord was not removed.
During all this visit similar scenes were
occurring. Mrs. Lincoln repeatedly attacked
her husband in the presence of officers be-
cause of these two ladies, and never suffered
greater humiliation and pain on account of
one not a near personal friend than when
saw the head of the state-the. man who car
ried all the cares of the nation at such crisis
subjected to this ineXpressi Die public NOR
| LITIGATION. He bore it as Christ might have
done, with an expression of pain and sadness
that cut one to the heart, bit with supreme
calmness and dignity. He called her ''moth-
err" with his old time plainness; he pleaded
with ewes and tones, and ondeavored to ex-
plain or palliate the offenses of others, till she
turned ON him like tigress, and then he
walked away, hiding that noble, ugly face
that we might not catch the full expression
of its misery.
THE MARTYR PREsIDENT's COURTESY.
Gen. Sherman was witness of some of
these episodes and mentioned them in his
memoirs many years ago Capt. Barnes, o.
the navy, was II witness AMI sufferer too
Barnes had accompanied Mrs. Ord on he!
unfortunae ride and refused afterward to sny
that the lady was to blame. Mrs. Lincoln
| never forgave him. A day or two afterward
| he went to speak TO the president on some
| official matter when Mrs. Lincoln and sew
eral others were present The presidents
| wife said something to him unusually oifeH-
sive that all the company could hear. Lin
coin was silent, but after moment h went
ND to the young officer and taking him by
tho arm led him into his own cabin, TO show
him map or a paper he said. He made no
remark, Barnes told me, upon what had oc-
cured He could not rebukc his wife, but
he showed his regret and regard for the
officer with touch of what seemed to me
the most exquisite breeding.
After the murder Of The president the &c
centricitics of Mrs. Lincoln became more ap
parent than ever, and people began to won
der whether her mind he'd not been affected
by her terrible misfortune. Mr. Seward
told me that she sold the presidents shirts
with his initials marked on them, before she
left the White House. and that, learning thu
} linen was for sale at q shop in Pennsylvania
avenue, he sent and bought it privately
She fingered at the executive mansion lonl
while after all arrangements should hav
been made for her departure, keeping tn
new president out of his proper residence
Afterwald she made appeals to public mel
and to the country for pensions and othe
pccuniary cid, though there was no need TO
public application. She went abroad doinl
strange things and carrying the honoret
name of Abraham Lincoln into strange an,
sometimes unfit company, for she wa
greatly neglected and felt the neglect
While ! was consul general at London
learned of her living in an obscure quartz
and went to see her. She was touched b.
: the attention, and when | asked her to IN
house-for it seemed wrong that the wido'
of the man who had done so much for u
all should be ignored by any American reE
, resentative-she wrote me q note of thanks
> betraying how rare such courtesies had be
come to her then
The next / heard of the poor woman wa
the scandal of the courts in Chicago, whe
l the fact was made clear that she was insane
1t was great relief to me to learn it, AM
doubtless the disclosure of the secret whicl
her son must have long suspected-though
, like the Spartan boy, he cloaked his pain
was to him sort of terrible satisfaction.
vindicated his conduct; it told for him wha
he had concealed; it proved him worth
son of that great father who also bore hi
fate SO heroically. Adam Badeau in Nev
York World.